14 DAY TRIAL // The inevitable happened! What seemed to be a quick fix, in order to launch the space shuttle Atlantis on the 10th of January, turned into an extensive repair operation that will involve replacing the entire engine cutoff system, which has been haunting NASA's space shuttles for more than two years.
During the tests that took place last week, when NASA engineers executed a fill up of the external liquid fuel tank to test the faulty fuel gauges, two of the gauges failed upon contact with the cool liquid, which might be due to temperatures sensibility, while a third sensor did not work at all, indicating a broken contact in the wiring.
The fuel gauge system represents a critical component in the safety of the space shuttle and its crew, as it cuts off the fuel supplies to the engines when running on an empty tank. After the fuel tank test, Atlantis' program manager Wayne Hale stated that, due to extensive damage to the fuel sensors, there might be a possibility that the shuttle would not be launched on January 10, but he failed to indicate a new scheduled date for the launch, as the exact amount of time needed to complete the repairs is unknown. "It could take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks," he said.
Nevertheless, there is some good news after all, as all the repair procedures can be made with the space shuttle on the launch pad. The faulty connector, which is thought to be the cause of the malfunction of the third fuel gauge, was removed from the shuttle last week and sent towards the Alabama testing facility to be studied and repaired if necessary.
However, pressure is still mounting on NASA, as the International Space Station must be completed until 2010, in order to retire age old space shuttles and replace them with a new space vehicle.